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Stop the week: Shock exchange: The tabloid week: Gossip king gives up crown

For years his grip on power seemed absolute. He was usually pictured with a celebrity by his side, and developed a powerful personality cult. Now, though, it looks as if he has finally gone.

The news, when it came, was sudden. Dominic Mohan, showbiz editor of The Sun, has quit.

“Madonna last night led the celebrity tributes as I prepared to leave,” he wrote last week. “I announced yesterday that I was moving on from the world’s No 1 showbiz column after five years, and messages from the stars have flooded in.” In a moving tribute, Madonna said: “Good luck, geezer.”

“Congratulations,” said Rod Stewart. “Would you kindly forward the nine pounds and two shillings that my accountants assure me you have owed me since April 16, 1992, when we had drinks at the Cock and Trumpet in Balls Pond Road.”